Chair



Feb. 10, 1942. E. M. JOHNSON \ETAL I CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 5, 1939 Feb. 10, 1942. M, JOHNSON ETAL 2,272,948

CHAIR Filed Aug. 5, 19519 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J7 l jrg g'wue/wi'ow EriOMc/bhnsofb, ,Dwrzghilo well,

Feb. 10, 1942.

E. M. JOHNSON ETAL CHAIR Filed Aug 5, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet s Er icM cjbhnson, Dwigh'tPoweZl,

Patented Feb. 10, 1942 Eric Magnus Johnson and Dwight Powell, Youngstown, Ohio, assignorsto The General Fireproofing Company, Youngstown, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application August 5, 1939, Serial No. 288,654

2 Claims.

This invention relates to metal furniture, and more particularly to chairs and the like, whose frame parts are made of aluminum while the seats and backs are upholstered.

In the manufacture of metal chairs of the type referred to, it is desirable to fabricate the chair frame including the seat, legs and rear frame,

before the back or seat is fitted with upholstery. In other words, it is desirable to complete the fabrication and finishing of all of the metal parts of the chair prior to the application of the upholstery to avoid damage thereto by.any operations incident to finishing the metal.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a strong and substantial back unit which may be completely assembled as to frame work and upholstery before it is secured to the chair frame thereby to permit of finishing the back in any desired quality or color of fabric or other material prior to being assembled to the metal frame, and having the advantage of permitting the frame to be fabricated and finished in accordance with the demands or requirements of any selected metal treatment and finishing operations so that when the several parts are ready, they may be assembled in a simple and expeditious manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat construction which is strong and adequately braced and to which the desired covering material may be readily fitted in an expeditious and attractive manner. In that connection, the invention contemplates novel means for securing the chair seat to the rear frame, and also for securing the front legs to the seat, while, at the same time, providing suitable reinforcement or bracing for both the front and rear legs relative to the seat, no rungs or braces being necessary between the legs.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel glide devices which may be readily and easily assembled in the ends of thechair legs to provide proper supporting means for the chair and to enable it to be readily moved over the floor or other surface in a quiet and easy manner.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, andarrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustratedv and claimed.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a chair constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the chair shown in Figure l.

the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail section taken on the line '4 of Figure 4.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a detail cross sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 1.

Figure 10 is a detail vertical sectional view of one of the legs of the chair, illustrating the novel glide construction.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The metallic parts of the chair include a tubular rear frame designated generally as A which carries the upholstered back B at its upper end while its lower end forms the rear legs C. The front legs C are connected to the front corners of a metal seat element, suitably upholstered, and designated generally as D. The rear frame and the front legs are preferably made of substantially square aluminum tubing and the metal parts of the seat are preferably steel sheets, plates and strips.

Referring first to the rear frame A, the hollow aluminum tubing l is bent or formed into the arched or substantially inverted U-shaped formation shown to provide a substantially transverse portion and downwardly extending side members. The under side of the arched or transverse portion of therear frame may be provided with one or more openings 2 (Figure 3), and may be also provided in the zone of the seat with the openings 3 (Figure 5) in its front wall. The side walls of the tubing I in the general horizontal plane of the openings 3, may also be provided with the fastening receiving openings 4. In addition to the openings above described, the tubing l of the rear frame is also provided with suitable openings 5 (Figure 6) in the zone of the seatD for receiving suitable seat fastening elements, later to be described. At this point, however, it may be also noted that each side member of the rear frame is interiorly provided in the zone of the seat with a suitable tap plate 6. As previously indicated, the rear frame is made of hollow aluminum tubing. Therefore, for the purpose of providing proper anchorage for the seat in the tubing, steel or similar metal tap plates 6 are provided. These tap plates are metallic strips having the offset portion ii for receiving a fastening 6 which secures the plate to the inside face of the hollow tubing, the head sition on the flange 8 at the lower edge of the pan. The cross brace I4 is then put in place and secured by the fastenings I to securely with the openings 5 in the tubing thereby to receive the seat fastenings when the seat is assembled to the back. As will also beobserved from Figure 6, the tap plate 6 is provided with the angular offset end portion I which substantially bridges or spans the interior walls of the hollow tubing so as to effectively brace the tap plate in the tubing and distribute the load or strain imposed by the seat on the rear frame to the rear walls of the tubing.

By reference to Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5, the construction and mounting of the back unit 13 on the rear frame A may be readily observed.

Referring first to Figure 3, it may be noted that the back unit includes a metallic pan 8, which provides in effect a receptacle for receiving a layer of upholstering material 9. The edges of the pan 8 are in the form of offset flanges 8* formed at .their outer limits with the rolled bead portion ID to provide a smooth edge. A second layer of upholstery material ll overlays the section 9 of upholsterlng material and provides a facing or covering for the flanges of the pan. The insideface of the pan carries one or more spikes or clips |2 which are riveted or otherwise secured to the inside face of the pan and have their outer ends projecting through the sidewall of the pan to provide a frame entering portion l3 insertable in the opening or openings 2 at the underside of the arched portion of the rear frame A as shown in Figure 3. The lower part of the pan is provided with a cross brace l4 (Figures 3 and 5) in the form of a steel strip member secured by fastenings l5 to nut members l6 welded or otherwise carried .by the inside face of the fiange at the lower edge of the pan. In other words, the fastenings I5 pierce the bottom flange of the pan and become anchored in the nut elements It thereby to secure the cross brace ll in position. The cross brace I4 clamps portionsiof the upholstery in position, as will presently appear. The end portions of the brace I4 are bent at right angles as indicated at IT, and extend rearwardly thereby to enter the slots 3 in the front faces of the side members of the rear frame previously referred to. The extensions I! of the cross brace are tapped and when in place register with the openings 4 in the inner faces of the side members thereby to receive the fastenings l8 (Figures 3, 4 and 5).

With further reference to the back unit .8, it may be pointed out that the upholstery is completed before the clip ends |3 are fitted in the openings 2, and before the extensions I! of the cross brace are fitted in the openings 3 and secured by the screws or other fastenings l8. After the layers 9 and I of felt, rubber or the like, are in place, the face of the unit is provided with the sheet material II, which covers the pan on all sides and has the free edges thereof, which overlie the rear faces of the fianges 8 cemented thereto. To further insure holding the cover to the pan, the latter may be provided with tongue-like extrusions t which may be bent down over the covering material to clamp the same firmly in place, and thus augclamp the abutting portions of the coverings Il and II, as shown in the lower part of Figure 3. Two layers of leather or other cushment the holding power of the cement. The

rear covering for the pan, designated generally as H", is applied by first cementing the lower edge thereof against the edge of upholstering.

material which have already been placed in pofront face of the tubular frame ioning material are then placed over the exposed face and lower edge of the cross brace l4, and the covering material is then applied to the rear face of the pan 8 so that the outer edges thereof completely cover the edges of the material ll' which-are fitted around the back edges of the pan depending on the type of covering, the said covering Il may or may not be cemented to the pan 8 and the edges of the material II. In this. way, all of the metallic parts of the back unit are covered by fabric or other suitable upholstering material.

Thus, when the back unit-is installed in the frame by placing the clips l2 in the openings 2 and securing extensions H in the rear frame, the top and side edges of the overlapped coverings of the pan will be clamped between the rear faces of the flanges 8* of the pan and the The clips II which enter the openings 2 constitute a fulcrum point for the upper portion of the back unit so that when the extensions I! of 'the cross brace are secured by the screws l8, the entire back unit will be held to the rearframe under tension. In the event that it becomes necessary to renew the upholstery covering, it will of course, be understood that it is only necessary to remove the screws l8 and to release the cross brace from engagement with the frame and the back unit may be dropped out of engagement with the under side of the top of the rear frame The seat construction D primarily includes in its organization a steel seat pan l9 whose upper surface is shaped to provide the desired saddle formation, and whose side and end portions are turned downwardly as indicated at 20.

The under side of the seat pan I9 is provided with apron portions depending therefrom, one

apron portion including the front wall 2| andfianges at the top and bottom edges thereof.

The top flanges 22 and 23* (Figure 8) are nested within the flanges 2|] of the seat pan and welded thereto, while the lower flanges 2|, 22 and 23* are provided with spaced openings to receive a stitching wire, or the like, for securing the upholstery covering in position. It may be noted that the side aprons 22 are notched as indicated at a: and the bottom of this notch is carried through the front apron 2| so that this apron has no top fiange and. therefore only the down-turned flange 20 at the front of the seat pan and the upper edge of the apron 2| overlap. The reason for this notching is to provide sufficient clearance in the front apron to accommodate the saddle curve of the pan at the front. The rear ends of the side walls of the front apron 2| overlap the angularly disposed end flanges 23 of the rear apron 23, and said rear apron is provided with openings which register with the openings 5 in the tubular member I and with the threaded openings 5 in the tap piece 6 to receive the fastening 24.

The front legs C are made of hollow aluminum tubing, suitably shaped as shown in Figure 1, and the upper ends thereof interiorly receive the tap member 25. This tap member is made of steel and consists of right angularly disposed wings joined by rounded connecting portions thereby to insure resiliency which permits of the tap plate to be compressed for insertion in the tops of the hollow leg members and thereafter frictionally grip the inside thereof so that nuts 26 riveted to the inside faces of the wings of the tap piece will register with openings in the aluminum leg members to receive fastenings as will presently appear. The upper end of each front leg member C is attached to an angular strip 21 which forms a socket for the leg, the said strip being provided with the offset end portions 21 welded to the inside of the apron which includes the parts 2| and 22 previously referred to. The strips 21 which form the sockets for receiving the legs are provided with openings intended to'register .with openings in the hollow legs and nuts 26 thereby to receive the fastenings 28. When the fastenings 28 are made tight in the nuts 26, it will be apparent that the upper end of the hollow aluminum leg will be securely held in place between the steel socket member 21 and the steel tap piece 25.

For the purpose of bracing the socket members 21, the under side of the seat pan I9 is pro- 23 with the rear frame A. The apices of the V-shaped members 29 and 32 are welded together as indicated at 34 in Figure 9.

The seat pan l9 and the apron portions 2|,

22 and 23' are covered with suitable upholstery.

- For example, pan I9 is fitted with a layer of felt I3 or its equivalent, and then a box-like fabric,

leather or other covering, including the top 19 and side portions IS is fitted over the pan. The said side portions I9 have suitable padding interposed between their rear sides and the walls of the aprons 2| and 22. The lower edges of the side portions |3 are turned inwardly as indicated at i9 to lie against the flanges 2|, 22 and 23 of the aprons to which flanges the covering is secured by the wire stitching l9.

It will thus be apparent that the seat unitD may be completely assembled with its upholstery prior to receiving the legs C and prior to fastening the rear of the seat unit to the .rear frame A.

Figure shows how the casters or glides may be fitted to the bottoms of the legs C and C.

The open end of each leg is provided with a botscrew shank 33 of the metal glide 31, the portion of said shank adjacent the glide being surrounded by a rubber or equivalent washer 31. The screw 36 fits into a spring steel nut 33 in the form of a strip which is bowed or flexed inwardly of the hollow open end of the chair leg and whose inner ends rest against the inner sides.

of the leg. The tightening of the screw of the glide compresses the bowed nut, forcing the outer ends into the opposite walls of the leg and thus locking the bottom plate and glide in place.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the present chair construction includes a rear frame which not only carries the back unit but also forms a support for the rear of the seat while the front of the seat carries the front leg members in suitable sockets, and no rounds or rungs are required between the legs. The back unit is held to the rear frame in such a manner as to be detachably interlocked therewith and yet held in position so that no, looseness or lost motion occurs in the completed article. The seat is so constructed that it may be fully upholstered before it is connected with the rear frame; and the front legs are so placed in sockets that the aluminum tubing constituting the legs is effectively clamped between steel members to interlock and hold them rigidly to the steel seat structure. While all of the parts are rigidly and securely united, in the finished construction, nevertheless, it is apparent that the same may be readily separated when desired for refinishing or reupholstering.

We claim:

1. In a chair construction, a seat including a pan forming the seat top and provided with a central saddle including relatively downwardly extending portions, flanges extending downwardly from the front, sides and rear of the pan, a. front apron including a front wall and rearwardly extending side walls, the upper edge of said front wall being cut away to clear the downwardly extending portions of the saddle and the upper edges of the rearwardly extending side walls of the front apron being secured to the side flanges of the pan,-a rear apron providing a vertical wall secured at its upper edge to the flange at the rear of the pan and havin offset end portions secured to the rearwardly extending side walls of the front apron, and a covering secured over the seat top of the pan and the walls of the apron members.

2. A chair comprising, a rear frame including spaced side members, a seat including a seat pan having flanges depending from each edge thereof, a front apron including a front wall and rearwardly extending side walls, said side walls each having an intumed flange at the top thereof and secured to the seat pan in the angle formed by related depending flanges of the said seat pan, a rear apron having-a top flange secured to the seat pan within the angle of the flange at therear thereof and also having end flanges over lapping and secured to the rear end of the side walls of the front apron, the front and side walls of the front apron and the rear apron each having inwardly directed perforated bottom flange for connecting the rear apron of the seat pan members of said frame. ERIC MAGNUS JOHNSON.- DWIGHT POWELL,

to the spaced side 

